Arik Gilbert of Marietta is the consensus No. 1 recruit in Georgia among juniors. That made a lot of sense to anyone watching him Friday night, when the wide receiver/tight end had five touchdown receptions in a 36-12 victory over North Paulding, a previously unbeaten team.
"He's so tough to cover because he is 6-5, 250 pounds, all muscle, power and speed, so he is a physical matchup problem regardless of whether you cover him with a corner, safety or linebacker," Marietta coach Richard Morgan said. "But more importantly, he is very coachable and wants to be great. He continues to work to improve. With that attitude, the sky is the limit for him."
Gilbert is listed as an athlete by most recruiting Web sites, meaning his college position is uncertain.
"Most college coaches expect Arik to be a hybrid tight end/wide receiver/H-back," Morgan said. "But all defensive coaches would love for him to come play DE/OLB. He could do either side of the ball, but I think he likes having the ball in his hands and winning those one-on-one matchups."
Morgan, who led Oscar Smith of Virginia to two state titles and national prominence before coming to Marietta in 2016, says that he has coached only two other players in 25 years that compare to Gilbert in terms of their combination of size, power, speed and athleticism. Those are Josh Sweat, a rookie defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Greg Boone, a high school quarterback who starred at tight end at Virginia Tech.
Morgan noted that Gilbert also is a good student. He has a 3.5 GPA and takes college dual-enrollment classes.
Gilbert's recent effort is among this week's Top Performances.
Top five
*Dutchtown DE/OL William Anderson had five sacks and six tackles for losses in an 18-10 victory over Jones County. A three-star recruit, Anderson leads the No. 1-ranked scoring defense in Class AAAAA as Dutchtown is allowing 4.7 points per game.
*Haralson County RB Treylon Sheppard rushed for 301 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries in a 26-23 overtime victory over Sonoraville. Sheppard has rushed for a state-leading 1,823 yards in six games.
*Heard County RB Aaron Beasley rushed for 302 yards on 17 carries and scored five touchdowns in 41-7 victory over Temple. Beasley is committed to Tennessee.
*Marietta WR/TE Arik Gilbert had 15 receptions for 294 yards and five touchdowns - all school records - in a 36-14 victory over North Paulding. Harrison Bailey was 32-of-50 passing for 480 yards.
*Rome RB Jamious Griffin rushed for 339 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and threw a 31-yard TD pass in a 62-14 victory over East Paulding. Griffin is now second in the state in rushing with 1,497 yards in seven games.
Best of the rest
*Allatoona OLB Cameron Carty had two tackles for losses, a sack and three QB hurries in a 23-7 victory over Harrison. DE Eric Carty had one sack and three QB hurries and forced a fumble.
*Archer CB Andrew Booth had four solo tackles, returned a kickoff 54 yards to set up a touchdown and returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown in a 40-14 victory over Newton.
*Athens Academy RB Len'Neth Whitehead scored on a 40-yard run with 1:47 left to break a 28-28 tie in a 35-28 victory over George Walton Academy. Whitehead rushed for 168 yards and five touchdowns.
*Blessed Trinity RB/LB Steele Chambers rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and had three tackles for losses in a 47-6 victory over Denmark.
*Brookstone WR Chris Edmonds caught five passes for 110 yards and one touchdown in a 43-25 loss to Marion County.
*Cambridge RB Philip Michael Collins rushed for 132 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in a 40-21 victory over Northview.
*Carrollton RB Brandon Marenco scored five touchdowns, four rushing and one receiving, and rushed for 140 yards on 14 carries in a 47-20 victory over Woodland of Cartersville.
*Cartersville QB Tee Webb was 26-of-36 passing for 337 yards and threw TD passes to five receivers in a 45-7 victory over LaGrange.
*Coosa QB Kenon Dixon had a hand in seven touchdowns in a 55-28 victory over Dade County. He was 13-of-21 passing for 252 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 123 yards and four touchdowns.
*Dawson County QB/RB Sevaughn Clark rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns and had 25 yards receiving in a 23-20 loss to Greater Atlanta Christian.
*Eastside RB Taylor Carter rushed for 102 yards and scored on a 55-yard reception in the fourth-quarter comeback in a 38-31 victory over Woodward Academy.
*Emanuel County Institute RB Eric Dixon rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries in a 56-0 victory over Treutlen.
*Flowery Branch QB Elijah Gainey passed for 336 yards and five touchdowns -three to D.J. Brown - in a 69-13 victory over Chestatee.
*Greater Atlanta Christian WR Ty James had six receptions for 150 yards in a 23-20 victory over Dawson County.
*Habersham Central RB Tracey Lowery rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-32 victory over Gainesville.
*Haralson County DB Phillip Haldeman had 20 tackles and broke up three passes in a 26-23 overtime victory over Sonoraville.
*Harlem RB A.J. Brown rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-14 loss to Hephzibah.
*Johns Creek QB Zach Gibson completed 22 of 24 passes for 332 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-13 victory over Pope.
*Lassiter RB Nnamdi Orjioke rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in a 38-24 loss to Walton.
*Locust Grove DL Cameron Harrison, making his first start, had nine solo tackles, five assists, two stops for losses, a pass breakup and four QB pressures in a 35-25 victory over Eagle's Landing. Harrison also returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown.
*Lumpkin County RB Luke Smith rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns and had 64 kick-return yards in a 42-19 victory over Cherokee Bluff.
*Mary Persons WR Deadrek Alford had four receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-14 victory over Upson-Lee.
*McIntosh LB Nathan Anderson had 13 tackles, two sacks and another tackle for a loss in a 9-3 victory over Fayette County.
*Mill Creek RB Chancellor Lee-Parker rushed for 205 yards on 24 carries in a 50-25 loss to North Gwinnett.
*Monroe Area LB Ja'Quaris Booker had 14 tackles, three for losses, and caused a fumble while playing only the first half of a 63-0 victory over Jackson County.
*Montgomery County RB DaQuan Jackson rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, caught a 33-yard pass, returned a punt 46 yards for a touchdown and returned a fumble 3 yards for a touchdown in a 50-0 victory over Wheeler County. Jackson had 196 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns on nine touches.
*Mount Paran Christian RB Jack Allen rushed 17 times for 153 yards and a touchdown in a 21-7 victory over Whitefield Academy.
*North Cobb RB Christian Singleton rushed for 255 yards on 32 carries, had 37 yards receiving on four catches and scored five touchdowns in a 47-13 victory over Kennesaw Mountain.
*Northside (Warner Robins) QB Jadin Daniels rushed for 130 yards and passed for 143 in a 30-20 victory over Coffee.
*Richmond Hill RB Jalen Rouse had 169 yards from scrimmage in a 41-7 victory over Brunswick.
*Social Circle QB Tate Peters rushed for 210 yards on 15 carries in a 48-14 victory over Clarkston.
*South Cobb QB Aeneas Dennis had 196 yards passing and 124 rushing in a 45-20 loss to Dalton. Desmond McDowell rushed for 164 yards, and Brysen Boone had 110 yards receiving.
*Southeast Whitfield RB Denzel Allen rushed for 210 yards on 20 carries in a 48-14 victory over Gilmer.
*St. Pius DB Zach Ranson had 12 solo tackles, one for a loss, and broke up two passes in a 28-14 victory over Oconee County.
*Swainsboro QB Kade Youmans was 13-of-15 passing for 197 yards and five touchdowns in just the first half of a 40-0 victory over Bacon County.
*Tattnall Square RB Jamal Marshall rushed for 126 yards, caught a 12-yard pass and had four tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss in a 21-19 victory over Stratford Academy. Marshall got an assisted tackle on Stratford's failed two-point attempt late in the game.
*Trinity Christian DB Cody Jones had two tackles for losses and two interceptions in a 29-13 victory over Landmark Christian.
Lines of distinction
*Aquinas' offensive line of Aiden Byrd, Lee Perry, Michael Bowles, Ryan Colley, Jonathan Bussey and Jordan Wall were dominant in a 495-yard rushing performance in defeating Washington-Wilkes 47-7. The Irish rushed 57 times and had three 100 yard rushers - J.P. Lambert (11-171-2), Kam Brinson (15-123-2) and A.J. Williams (15-100-2).
*Dublin’s offensive line of Berrick Wadley, Jalen Carter, Jeremy Stuckey, Ty McRae, Landon Amerson, Jaques Evans and Steve Linton cleared the way for 491 rushing yards in a 34-10 victory over previous No. 5 Dodge County in a Region 3-AA game. Dublin won without attempting a pass and nearly had four 100-yard rushers. The leaders were Jermaine Cooley (14 attempts, 143 yards, one touchdown), Greg Jones (16-140-3), Corteveyas Mitchell (11-103-0) and Tyler Strickland (4-84-1).
*Etowah's offensive line of tackles Dominick D'Antonio and Will Robertson, guards Raymone Devezin and Jake Greenwald, center Porfiero Acosta and tight end Alec Blanchard paved the way for 298 yards of rushing and 384 yards of offense in a 32-27 win over Woodstock. Etowah converted a fourth-and-2 and scored on a 17-yard run with 2:40 left for the winning touchdown. Nick Maddox rushed for 184 yards.
*Holy Innocents' offensive line of center James Gleeson, guards Blake Dobbs and Charlie Hawk, tackles Richard Johnston, Will Harrell and Will Schoen and tight ends Graham Collins and William Willis helped the Golden Bears put up 441 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 45 carries in a 59-48 victory over Strong Rock Christian. B-back Michael Cox rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns.
*South Forsyth's offensive line of Bryce Cockfield, Bryce Meyers, Bryce Hutcheson, Keith Fehr, Cameron Michini, Jamal Camp and Luis Gonzalez graded out 91 percent and recorded 46 pancake blocks in a 27-10 victory over Lambert. South Forsyth rushed for 345 yards, led by Jordan Brunson's 190.
*Strong Rock Christian's line of Wes Jones, Cooper Raxter, Noah Garmon, Chase Hobgood and Jack Grier helped the Patriots put up 638 yards of total offense in a 59-48 loss to Holy Innocents'. QB Demetrius Knight rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson Wilkerson rushed for 158 yards. Nick Hassan had 220 yards receiving.
*Vidalia's offensive line of tackles Riyon Adams and John Tarver, guards Robert Brown and Caleb Henry, tight ends Jaylon Clements and Caitlyn Jordan and center Tyler Black helped the Indians rack up 408 total yards and 385 rushing on 26 carries, an average of 14.8 per carry, in a 43-15 victory over Jeff Davis.
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